Intimate with a Stranger
Why do we find it so difficult to be intimate with each other as human beings? We reserve our intimacies for certain people and a few moments here and there. Our entire existence depends on our intimacy with everything around us, every sunrise, every clear blue sky, every tear drop, every heartfelt moment in our lives, every song in our heart, every movement governed by our desire to connect to that which we reach for. Our very nature is to seek intimacy, to reach for each other, to reach for ourselves, and yet we stay guarded, reserving our intimacies for our private, safe moments.
Perhaps we give intimacy to a strange dog, opening ourselves to a newfound connection. Perhaps we open ourselves to intimacy with a tree we sit under and share ourselves completely under its shade. Perhaps we jump in the foreign river and merge with it. But with our fellow human we stand reserved, we mind others “personal space” and our own, we speak polite words, we give short glances and move on, we walk past those who need help, we shake hands, we text rather than call. Are we a cold and disconnected species? Or underneath do we wish to connect intimately with one and other? Are we eager to be open and loving to everyone we meet? Can we look into the eyes of a stranger and know we love them, just because we do? Can we reach out and bring ourselves to others as we are, our hearts exposed, our mysteries unanswered? Or are we afraid they will see our scars, our imperfections, our hurts? Will they exploit our weaknesses?
If we approached the tree in such way, we would find no shade. If we approached the sunrise this way, we would find no warmth. To give is to receive as to breath is to live. To be intimate is to be present and alive. Can we be present with a stranger? Can we be present every moment we are called to be together, knowing that each connection with each other has a deep meaning and purpose? Or should we use our opinions, reason and societal conventions as a buffer which keeps us safe from each other, allowing us to connect but never with the depth which truly honors our connection with one and other? Today, give up the convention, be intimate, be loving, see yourself in a stranger and fall in love knowing you are deeply connected, you are living in a beautiful moment together. See what a miracle you are together, how the universe in that moment revolves around your newfound connection. Open to intimacy and you will feel these moments and be set free of a careful life, reserved to be shared with a select few in a select few moments. Be intimate with a stranger.
